To the rest of America, these Ohio State Buckeyes are like zombies in a horror movie: They just won't die.

The team that was mugged and left for dead Sept. 13 in Los Angeles? They're baaaack.

The Buckeyes endured a major makeover -- changing quarterbacks and offensive styles -- and have won five straight games to stand 7-1 overall and 4-0 in the Big Ten.

The coaches and media members who vote in the polls have done their best to suppress this OSU uprising. The Buckeyes have climbed only three spots, to 10th, after those five wins.

Earlier this year, OSU tailback Chris "Beanie" Wells was asked why he thought so many people disliked his team.

"Because it's such a great university," he said with a grin. "I'm thinking those people applied to Ohio State and couldn't get in."

That's a good line, but the truth is that nobody wants to see Ohio State make the Bowl Championship Series title game after the Buckeyes have been demolished in the past two games by an aggregate score of 79-38.

Been there, done nothing.

But fortunately for Ohio State, the only poll that matters is the BCS, where the Buckeyes stand ninth -- and are rated fifth by the computers, which make up a third of the formula.

So Ohio State has a huge opportunity Saturday. In a game to be broadcast nationally in prime time, the Buckeyes play host to Penn State (8-0, 4-0), ranked third in the polls and BCS standings.

A win likely would vault Ohio State near the top five. Provided the Buckeyes polish off Northwestern, Illinois and Michigan, they would need a mere handful of dominoes to fall their way in order to once again play for a national title.

"If we could come out and win, it could force some people to respect us again," cornerback Malcolm Jenkins said. "Because we pretty much don't have any (respect) right now nationwide."

Of course, Tressel will have none of this title speculation. The company line has always been "one game at a time," and this week is no different.

"We've never discussed the BCS standings," he said. "It's way premature."

His players, though, were college football fans long before they were college football players. So it's only natural that they sneak some peeks at the rankings and -- gasp! -- maybe even read a paper or watch television.

"I think as fans, you always watch who's in front of you or who's behind you," linebacker Marcus Freeman said. "You watch those good teams and you're always excited to see who's winning and who's losing."

Of course, the flip side of a game of this magnitude is that a loss not only knocks the Buckeyes out of the national picture for good but almost certainly would ruin their chances to claim a third straight outright Big Ten crown, something that has never been done.

OSU players recognize they are fortunate that their title hopes have been resurrected. After the USC debacle, there was no guarantee they would get back into contention.

"We're very grateful to be able to have the chance again to come back," defensive tackle Nader Abdallah said. "We just have to make sure we take advantage of the situation."

Tight end Rory Nicol said, "If we win this game, we're sitting right where we want to be, and we're excited about that. We couldn't ask for a better situation. This is beautiful."